Book Description

A deeply revealing look at presidential family members through history: “Full of sparkling anecdotes . . . [written] with humor and humanity.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch What is it like when the White House is home? In this book, Time correspondent and author of First Mothers Bonnie Angelo tells the real-life stories of how presidents and their wives, children, and extended families lived day-to-day in an imposing national monument while attempting to keep their private lives out of the public domain. First Families chronicles exhilarating moments as well as dark days at the nation’s most famous address, with behind-the-headlines accounts of picture-book weddings, love affairs, rollicking children, domestic squabbles, and tragic deaths. From activist wives Eleanor Roosevelt and Hillary Clinton to reluctant occupants Bess Truman and Jacqueline Kennedy, to those such as Mary Todd Lincoln, Dolley Madison, and madcap debutante Alice Roosevelt, who embraced their new address and status, here is an unforgettable human portrait of our First Families and how they coped, stumbled, or thrived in the national spotlight. Includes photographs “A sweeping panorama of family life on Pennsylvania Avenue . . . revealing and intimate.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Makes the lives of those who either loved or loathed their sojourns in the White House as irresistible as a gossip column . . . Angelo is particularly skilled at describing the difficulties White House children, including Lyndon Johnson’s daughters and Amy Carter, had adjusting to life in a fish bowl.” —Publishers Weekly “Covers more than 200 years of American history, popular culture, and presidential trivia. Relying heavily on the recollections and memoirs of presidential family members, White House staff, and D.C. journalists, this chatty slice of Americana is chock-full of fun First Family facts.” —Booklist